Honors and officers - 06/22/13

Heather Moritz, West Fargo, was elected lieutenant governor and named District 22 Quotarian of the Year at the annual meeting of Quota International.

District 22 includes North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Moritz is owner of Alphabet Avenue Day Care and has been active in Quota International of Fargo since 1998.

Sanford earns honors for hip, joint programs

Sanford Medical Center, Fargo, has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for its hip fracture program and its knee, hip and shoulder replacement programs.

Sanford is the only health care program in North Dakota to receive all four certifications and did so by demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals.

School career program honored for excellence

The West Fargo Public Schools Career Technical Resource Education program has received the CTE Director’s Award of Excellence.

The award is an acknowledgement of superior career and technical education programs in North Dakota.

The program gives students the opportunity to develop their full potential academically, emotionally, physically, socially and vocationally.

Ron Dahley and Pat Johnson are the program teachers.

West Fargo teacher earns DiscoverE award

West Fargo STEM Center teacher Holly Erickson was one of eight runners-up for the DiscoverE Educator Awards, part of the National Engineers Week Foundation that highlights educators are who are inspiring tomorrow’s innovation by helping students discover engineering.

The program is open to all full-time educators teaching in grades 6-12 across the country.

In recognition, Erickson will received a $500 award, a 3M Shot and Share digital camera and a 3M gift pack of classroom supplies.

Van Dam to attend Fastrack Academy

Neil Van Dam, a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual Gores Group, Fargo, has been awarded a nomination to attend Fastrack Academy in Milwaukee, a company tradition that provides financial representatives who have met production requirements an interactive forum designed to inspire higher production and professional growth.

Van Dam, a native of Park River, N.D., has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He has been with Northwestern Mutual for five years.

Andrews Herman named 2013 lawyer of the year

Sarah Andrews Herman of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm, Fargo, has been recognized as Lawyer of the Year for 2013 by Best Lawyers, a peer review guide to the legal profession worldwide. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area receives the honor.

She also received a star rating from Chambers USA, the highest ranking for 2013. Andrews Herman has practiced in the Fargo area since 1977.

Dorsey & Whitney law firm earns honors

Dorsey & Whitney, Fargo, has been chosen the Large Tier winner of the 2013 Corporate INTL Magazine Legal Award for Labor Law Firm of the Year in North Dakota and Litigation Law Firm of the Year in North Dakota.

Dorsey & Whitney was also recognized for excellence in labor and employment law by Chambers USA, which gave the firm its highest ranking.

Dorsey’s Fargo office opened in 1993 and is one of 19 branch offices of Dorsey & Whitney, which is based in Minneapolis.

Jeans and Jerseys event names co-chairpersons

Eric and Heather Johnson have been named co-chairpersons of the Jeans and Jerseys fundraising event for ShareHouse, a nonprofit chemical addiction treatment center in Fargo.

Eric Johnson is vice president and safety director at Meinecke-Johnson Co., and Heather Johnson is employed at J&L Sports, both in Fargo.

Other committee members are Dr. Bob and Shirley Montgomery, Melissa Paul, Aaste Campbell and Carrie Simonson. Staff members are Deborah Soliah and Lisa Trudeau.

Jeans and Jerseys is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Ramada Plaza and Suites, Fargo. Tickets are $75 and are available at ShareHouse, 4227 9th Ave. S., Fargo or by calling (701)-373-8670.

Alfson named 2013 outstanding CSR of year

The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Re-search has named Joni Alfson, an account executive at Dawson Insurance Agency, Fargo, as the 2013 Outstanding Customer Service Representative of the Year for the state of North Dakota.

Video Arts Studio earns Bronze Telly Award

Video Arts Studio, Fargo, has won a Bronze Telly Award for its educational video, “The Road to Little Rock.”

The video tells the story of nine teenagers from Little Rock, Ark., and North Dakota U.S. District Judge Ronald Davies, who followed the law, ignored political pressure and required the school district in Little Rock to integrate “forthwith.” The actions of the Little Rock Nine and Davies changed the course of the civil rights movement and public education in the United States.

The video was produced as part of an interactive curriculum that will be introduced in all North Dakota and Arkansas elementary, middle and high schools.